THE YOUTH ARM of the Labour Party has called cuts to social welfare for under 25s “regressive and counter-productive”.

Labour Youth National Chairperson Aideen Carberry said that the move taken by the Fine Gael and Labour government was “fundamentally unjust”.

It is fundamentally unjust that young unemployed adults, who are eligible to vote and required to pay income tax, are expected to accept lesser payments than their older counterparts. It runs counter to the intergenerational solidarity that Irish society should be built on.

Carberry said that young people have suffered a disproportionate burden during the economic crisis.

“They suffer mass unemployment, emigration, little prospect of owning their own home in the near future and serious mental health problems.

“They are graduating from college with little prospect of work in their chosen field and are taking up work in low paid precarious employments in order to make ends meet.”

The Labour Party, however, rejected social media claims that they had removed the statement from either the party’s or Labour Youth’s websites.

“Any notion that we took a statement down is without foundation. They are having some technical difficulties, but they do administer that website themselves,” said a spokesperson.

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